The popular program to help the elderly and low income with their heating bills opened for the season on Monday.
"We were very, very busy and we are busy today," said Arline Beaty, director of income maintenance for the county Social Services Department.
In the 2008-09 heating season, Beaty said the Home Energy Assistance Program served 20,721 households, a record. The county had an estimated 90,496 households in the 2000 census.
"We had expenditures totaling over $16 million," she said of the program that is "100 percent federally funded."
Last winter, New York issued more than 1.5 million HEAP benefits to low-income households.
HEAP provides energy assistance benefits that the elderly and low-income households rely upon to keep their homes warm in the winter. The federally funded program is administered through the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Local social service departments are responsible for receiving and processing applications.
And this year, more will be eligible for HEAP because the thresholds have been increased. For example, a family of four with a household income of as much as $46,837 would be eligible, up from $45,312 last year.
Regular HEAP benefits are based on income, the primary fuel source and the presence of a household member who is under age 6, age 60 or older or permanently disabled.
This season, the maximum regular benefit a household can receive is $700, said Beaty.
Income eligible households in New York can receive one regular HEAP benefit a season and could also be eligible for an emergency benefit if they are in impending danger of running out of fuel or having their utility services shut off.
Applications were mailed to all households that received a HEAP benefit during the 2008-09, and such applications can be returned by mail without the need for the household to visit their local office, said Beaty. She noted that by mailing out more applications before the season opened than in past years, the forms can processed earlier and checks cut.
New applicants can apply at:
• County Department of Temporary and Disability Assistance, HEAP Office, 230 W.. Dominick St. The telephone number is 338-0240.
• Mohawk Valley Community Action, 1721 Black River Blvd. Appointment needed for regular and emergency benefits. The phone number is 624-9930.
• County Department of Temporary and Disability Assistance, HEAP Office, 800 Charlotte St. The number is 798-5559.
• Mohawk Valley Community Action, 5 Johnson Park, Utica. Regular benefits only by appointment. The number is 624-0821.
Additionally, Beaty said the county Office for the Aging and Continuing Care will be holding outreach sessions to assist seniors with their HEAP applications. For more information on the dates and times, call 798-5456.
